Tie Dye Cake is a moist doctored-up vanilla cake with colored batter marbled together for a fun "tie dye" effect! It's perfect for birthdays, potlucks and summer parties!
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If you're looking for a cake that will WOW a group of kiddos at a birthday party, this amazing tie dye cake is it!!! And not only is it a fun cake full of vibrant colors, it's also absolutely delicious!

Ingredients Needed
- Boxed Cake Mix - White cake mix is the best option; yellow can work as well, depending on the colors you're using.
- All Purpose Flour
- Sugar
- Sour Cream - Use the full-fat sour cream for this.
- Butter - I use salted butter.
- Milk
- Eggs - I use large eggs (You can also opt to use 5 egg whites - this will keep the batter more white)
- Almond or Vanilla Extract Food Coloring - Liquid or gel food coloring will work
- Frosting - I like to use white frosting that I can color, but any frosting will work!
How to Make a Tie Dye Cake
This cake always looks fancy, but it's super simple to make. It just takes a little extra time - and it's totally worth it!

First, you'll mix the cake mix, flour, sugar, sour cream, melted butter, milk, eggs and vanilla or almond extract. Stir well, making sure to scrape the batter from the sides of the bowl at least once.


Next, decide how many different colors you'd like and divide batter into small bowls. Add the food coloring to create the colors you'd like in the tie-dye cake.

Then scoop the batter into the pan! You can do this with spoons or cookie scoops. Either way, but sure to alternate colors so you get some of each color in every slice!

Now swirl the batter with a toothpick and bake! You'll know the cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean (or with a few moist crumbs). Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Tie Dye Layer Cakes and Tie Dye Cupcakes
As with most cake recipes, you can certainly use different pans to get different size cakes.
Round 2-Layer Cake: Use two 8-inch round cake pans lined with parchment paper and bake for about 35 minutes.
Round 3-Layer Cake: Use three 6-inch round cake pans lined with parchment paper and bake for about 35 minutes.
Cupcakes: This recipe will make 30-35 cupcakes and will bake for about 15 minutes.
Tie Dye Sheet Cake: Use a greased half-sheet pan and bake for 18-22 minutes.


Tie Dye Cake Frosting
There are so many different options here!! Homemade buttercream frosting is an easy, go-to for me! I included the recipe for that in the recipe card below. With a white buttercream, it's easy to add color to it and spread or pipe the frosting on top.
Another one of my favorites, great for a 9x13-inch or sheet cake, is this whipped cream frosting!!

Color Ideas
- Christmas! Use white, red and green to make a Christmas Tie Dye Cake!
- School Spirit! Use your team colors (add white, too!) for a fun game-day treat!
- Unicorn Cake! Use light pastel colors and top with colorful sprinkles and edible glitter!
- Camo Cake! Use different camo colors for your favorite hunter or military personnel!

How to Store a Leftover Frosted Cake
A cake with buttercream can be left out at room temperature (well-covered) for up to three days. You can store it in the fridge for up to five days, but you'll want to give it time to come to room temperature before enjoying (the texture is best at room temp!).
You can freeze extra cake, too. To do so, you can keep it in an airtight container whole OR cut it into individual slices and wrap each with plastic wrap. Then, place the slices in a freezer bag and freeze for another time!

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